On Tue, 02 Dec 2003 00:05:26 GMT, Carl Byrns
wrote:


If 50% of the states produced 2/3 more homicide than the other 50%
armed states do..thats pretty darned good, dont you think?

Not really. Let me repeat:
Criminal activity doesn't occur at a state or even a county level-
it's very localized- block by block. Just because one are of one city
has a high crime rate, does that mean the whole state does? Of course
not.

The statement "50% of the states produced 2/3 more homicide than the
other 50% armed states do" is meaningless because it doesn't define
how the homicides are committed- a sidearm is just about useless
during a drive-by or being killed by a drunk driver (which is capital
murder in some states). On the other hand, a pistol is right handy
when some coked-out loser tries for your wallet.
Now if you can produce a factual statement to the effect that sidearms
PREVENTED so many deaths, then you have solid data.

-Carl

God I love having a straight man...G

"There are approximately two million defensive gun uses (DGU's) per
year by law abiding citizens. That was one of the findings in a
national survey conducted by Gary Kleck, a Florida State University
criminologist in 1993. Prior to Dr. Kleck's survey, thirteen other
surveys indicated a range of between 800,000 to 2.5 million DGU's
annually. However these surveys each had their flaws which prompted
Dr. Kleck to conduct his own study specifically tailored to estimate
the number of DGU's annually.

Subsequent to Kleck's study, the Department of Justice sponsored a
survey in 1994 titled, Guns in America: National Survey on Private
Ownership and Use of Firearms
(http://www.ncjrs.org/txtfiles/165476.txt

Using a smaller sample size than Kleck's, this survey estimated 1.5
million DGU's annually."


As to side arms being used in drivebys..one would assume you are
unaware that the majority of such are done with handguns, with a
lesser number being done with :
1. Mossberg Mod 60 22 rifle as the most used 22 rifle
2. Various 12 ga. shotguns (with the Mossberg 500 series being the
most commonly used
3, a very small number of fully automatic weapons (unlawful ones btw)

Now the crux of the matter is:

The statement "50% of the states produced 2/3 more homicide than the
other 50% armed states do" is meaningless

Is that a true statement or not. Yes or no?

Gunner

"No man shall be debarred the use of arms.
The laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm those only who are neither
inclined nor determined to commit crimes.
Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants.
They ought to be designated as laws not preventative but fearful of crimes,
produced by the tumultuous impression of a few isolated facts, and not by
thoughtful consideration of the inconveniences and advantages of a universal decree."
- Thomas Jefferson